My lips turn up, and I play with the hair on the back of his neck. “I think this could’ve happened in the summer.”
Dean nods with a shrug. “Maybe, but I believe there’s something magical in the air that makes it so we all can’t help but accept what comes our way.”
Before I can say another word, the elevator jerks and we’re moving. I go to step away, but Dean holds me tight. Then the door opens and there are three people standing there, looking at the two of us in each other’s arms.
“Well, seems you guys are doing just fine,” an older gentleman says before letting out a low chuckle.
“Yeah, I think we are,” Dean says as he steps back and grabs his jacket from the floor.
For the first time in a long time, I think I am too. It may not have been the way I wanted to spend an hour of my time, but it ended up being the best hour of my life.
He extends his hand, and I take it.
“You two have to kiss,” the older man says, and I finally get a look at him.
He’s a heavy man with a white beard. He looks exactly like . . . Santa. There’s a glimmer in his eyes as though he already knows that’s exactly what we were doing in that elevator.
“What?” I say.
He points to the ceiling right outside of the elevator door. “Mistletoe.”
“Oh.”
“It’s bad luck,” Santa look-alike says. “Plus, it’s the holidays. You never know what can happen if you believe. Do you believe, Holly?”
I look at Dean and smile. “Yeah, I do. It’s really the best time of year.”
Dean grins and presses his lips to mine, reminding me that anything can happen during the holidays if you just have faith.
WHAT WAS PREVIOUSLY “THE END” . . .
Thank you for reading this short story of A Holiday Lift. I was reminded of how much I loved writing Dean and Holly after watching Passionflix film it that I knew I needed to go in and give more. I wanted answers to my own questions and to see where they went. So . . . did Dean show Holly that this time of year is the best? Read and find out.
5
~Two Years Later~
“Dean! Can you please help me?” I yell from my rather precarious spot on the stepstool.
He rushes into the living room, his eyes wide. “What are you doing?” I hear him say as he reaches to stop the stool from teetering on two legs.
“The angel was crooked,” I explain as if it should be obvious.
“Regardless, you shouldn’t be climbing up there.”
I roll my eyes. “It’s fine.”
“And if you fell?”
I step down, my hand touching his cheek. “You’d catch me.”
The anger deflates a little from him. “Not if I didn’t know you were falling.”
“I have faith.”
The last few months have been crazy. Yes, the holidays are always busy at the agency, but with the two of us being promoted in different departments, our hours have been ridiculous, leaving us to struggle to find time to see each other.
Dean got the promotion to the new department, and after my boss quit, I was given his spot. It made us dating much easier and people asked far fewer questions.
Not to mention, everyone at work considered us a foregone conclusion. Apparently, we weren’t very subtle.
“I’ve missed you,” he says as he wraps his arms around me.
“It’s been so hard with the new accounts we’ve gotten,” I say, loosening his tie. “Do you have everything settled with your new hire?”
He groans. “Not even close. She’s ambitious, which is great, but she’s reckless.”
“You’ll get her sorted out,” I reassure him.
“It would be much easier if she weren’t the owner’s daughter.”
I tap my hand on his chest with a grin. “Yeah, that does suck for you.”
Dean laughs before giving me a brief kiss. “Still, it’s a good thing we’re busy.”
“I know, but we’ll get a reprieve after the new year, right?”
He sighs deeply. “I doubt that I will.”
“Why?”
“Because I just got another account, and it’s going to require some travel, possibly even before the new year.”
“You’re going to miss New Year’s Eve?”
“I hope not, but if I have to fly out to Tokyo, then I may not have a choice.”
I try not to be sad about it, but I am. Being with him has brought me so much joy. He made me promises, and he’s kept every one of them. I love him so much, and selfishly, I want to be with him.
However, our careers are what brought us together, and I know how much it means to him. If it were me who had to travel, I would want him to understand.
“We’ll make it work,” I promise.
He gives me a sweet kiss. “This is why I love you.”
“Oh? Because of this one reason?” I say teasingly.
“This and many, many others.”
I laugh. “Well, I am pretty fabulous.”
“That you are.”
“Now, let’s get this tree fully decorated before our parents get here tomorrow.”
We’ve barely had time to do anything Christmas related. Last night, three days before Christmas, we went and found a tree and threw some lights on it. Now we’re doing our best not to make it look like total crap because I had the brilliant idea of hosting Christmas dinner this year.
As if I weren’t already stressed out about seeing his mother again.
I groan, regretting my stupidity. “What?” he asks.
“I just . . . what if your mother still doesn’t like me?”
Dean’s brows furrow. “What are you talking about? She loves you.”
“She loved me before we moved in together. She loved me when she thought this was just a fling and you’d move back to California instead of staying here.”
Kayti Pritchard is the sweetest, most traditional mother who has ever lived.
When I flew out with him to California for Christmas the first
